


Toothpaste Kisses

by buckybees



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (probably), Amputee Bucky Barnes, Anxiety Attacks, Dentist Sam Wilson, Dentist Steve Rogers, Dentistry, Fanart, Frenemies Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Medical Examination, Medical Inaccuracies, Nurse Thor Odinson, Patient Bucky Barnes, Phobias, dental au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:40:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24241450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckybees/pseuds/buckybees
Summary: Sitting in the horribly antiseptic gateway to hell, otherwise known as the waiting room, Bucky was deeply reassessing his life choices. Maybe if he didn’t eat ice cream for every meal this wouldn’t have happened.Steve's a dentist, Bucky's a patient. You know the drill.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 56
Kudos: 148





	1. Lay with me, I'll lay with you

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Despite shipping Stucky for about 7 years, this is the first time I've written any fanfiction for them, so I'm excited to join in! I hope you enjoy :)
> 
> Title/chapter titles are of course from Toothpaste Kisses by the Maccabees
> 
> Warnings: dental phobia, past medical trauma, brief mention of a car accident

“Now, Bucky” Nat demanded. “Call them”. Bucky let out a groan from under his pillow, phone strategically buried somewhere beneath him.

“Fine, _I’ll_ call them” she said, darting out of reach when Bucky made a half-hearted kick in her direction.

“Romanov, I swear to God”. Bucky raised his head, looking at his housemate reproachfully. His long hair was ruffled and messy, and the little icepack he’d bought in a last ditch attempt to ward off the pain in his tooth had left an imprint on his swollen cheek.

“Just do it, man. We can’t stand another week of you moping around. You’re killing our vibe” said Clint. He was reclined at the end of Bucky’s bed, scrolling through something on his laptop.

“Do we have a vibe?” asked Nat.

“Sure!” replied Clint easily. “C’mon Buck. You didn’t even come out with us last night, and you’ve hardly eaten today. Not even leftover pizza”. Bucky pouted, pointing to an empty smoothie bottle on his windowsill. “That doesn’t count”.

“Does…it’s got fruit in” he retorted childishly, dropping back down onto his ice pack and groaning when his sore tooth was jolted.

“It’s really not that bad, Bucky” said Nat. “You’ll be in, out and finished before you know it”.

“That’s what she said” snorted Clint.

“Or that’s what _he_ said, in Bucky’s case” Nat amended.

Bucky rolled his eyes at the pair of them, and concentrated on breathing. Everything hurt. What was the point. He’d spent half the morning upside down, which according to some dumbass reddit user was a cure for toothache, and at that point he’d been desperate enough to try it.

The other half was spent in front of the bathroom mirror, using the torch on his phone to stare at the damned cavity. It was on the bottom, second tooth to the back, and it _really bloody hurt_.

“Bucky” Nat sighed, sliding to the floor and prodding him gently in the arm.

“I don’t want to go” he moaned.

“I know”, she sighed, “but you’re in pain. I know you’re hoping it will go away, but it won’t. You need to deal with this now, before it gets worse, okay?”.

“Okay” said Bucky, pressing his lips into a thin line. Nat squeezed his shoulder.

“Call them”.

Once Bucky had morosely shooed the pair out of his room, he found the closest dentist online.

Shield Dentistry: Protecting your teeth since 1965.

Glaring at the obligatory photo of a perfect smiling dentist on the welcome page, he dialled the number, half hoping no one would pick up. He had no such luck however, and was greeted by a cheery receptionist who introduced himself as Scott. After registering as a new patient and scheduling an emergency appointment for two days’ time, Scott asked if there was anything else he could help with.

“I, er- I don’t like the dentist much” said Bucky hesitantly. You were supposed to say that, right? Then you got the nice dentist, instead of a drill-happy maniac.

“Thanks for telling me, James” said Scott. “I’ll change your dentist to Dr. Rogers, he’s very good with nervous patients. It’ll be half an hour earlier on Tuesday, is that okay?”.

It was okay, and Dr. Rogers better have the bedside manner of a saint, because Bucky was about as nervous as they came.

Two days later, sitting in the horribly antiseptic gateway to hell, otherwise known as the waiting room, Bucky was deeply reassessing his life choices. Maybe if he didn’t eat ice cream for every meal this wouldn’t have happened. Perhaps spending that extra dollar on the extra strength toothpaste would’ve been a good idea.

Still, he was missing an extremely boring meeting about presentable uniform in the workplace, so that was something. Usually he loved his engineering internship, but being lectured about an untucked shirt was definitely something he could live without.

With ten minutes left until his appointment, he glanced around the waiting room (hell antechamber). It was fairly full, and there was a blonde woman with a Karen haircut at the desk loudly complaining about her wait time. A child was crying in the play corner, the toy cars failing to amuse him. _Me too_ , thought Bucky. There was a whole kaleidoscope of butterflies flapping around in his stomach.

In an attempt to distract himself, he began to jiggle his leg, but was suitably entertained when a dentist came to escort Angry Karen back for her appointment. The chairs in the waiting room weren’t comfortable enough for a fifteen-minute delay, apparently.

Another child sat opposite was gawking at him, though Bucky suspected that had more to do with his lack of left arm rather than her views on his dental hygiene. Two minutes. That was time enough to escape, right? He could just walk out, and maybe if he just brushed his teeth _really_ well the cavity would magically disappear. Or maybe he could 3D-print himself a filling at work.

He didn’t know if he wanted time to speed up or slow down. Though, Karen had complained about the wait time, so maybe he had longer than he thought.

“James Barnes?” called a deep voice from the doorway. Oh God. Showtime. Bucky took a deep breath, which did nothing to settle his stomach as he got to his feet, coming face to face with a _very_ attractive dentist.

Bucky didn’t think two those words should ever appear in a sentence together; any handsome features were surely counteracted by each horrible tool they possessed, but this was undeniable.

Tall and well built, the dentist had kind blue eyes and, of course, perfect pearly whites. Bucky was so damn glad he brushed his teeth twice that morning. “Hello James, I’m Dr. Rogers, but please call me Steve” he said, giving Bucky a welcoming smile.

“Bucky” he replied, shaking the offered hand, and taking the opportunity to let his eyes wander. Jeez, if those scrubs were any tighter he’d burst right through ‘em, not that Bucky would complain. He _could_ complain about his current situation, however.

Schooling his face into what he hoped was an easy smile, but was in fact a rather strained grimace, Bucky released the dentist’s hand, making no move to leave the waiting room.

Dr. Rogers, Steve, leaned a little closer, and wow, he smelt good. Aftershave was stronger than dentist it seemed.

“Would you like to come through? It’s quieter in my office, and you can get comfortable” he said, nodding to the loud children in the play corner. Bucky nodded reluctantly, and managed a half smile as Steve held the door for him, deliberately brushing his arm as he passed. Hey, he could at least get _something_ out of this experience.

They passed a number of closed doors on their way to Steve’s office, and Bucky bit his lip as he heard the high whiz of a drill behind one of them. Oh _hell_ no. He almost bumped into Steve when he stopped outside his office, and felt a fresh wave of nausea as he entered.

The dreaded chair was in the centre of the room, looking every bit as terrifying as he remembered it. A paper towel covered the tray beside it, and though it was a slight relief that he couldn’t see any of the tools, he knew they were lurking beneath. The antiseptic smell was also more intense here, and honestly, Bucky felt a little sick. He’d been brushing off Nat and Clint whenever the phrase ‘dentophobia’ had arisen, but this kind of cemented it for him. Shit.

He rubbed the back of his neck, and glanced at Steve, who was looking at him with concern.

“Hey, are you feeling okay?”.

“Yeah” said Bucky. “I just- I don’t like dentists much”. _Wow_ , way to shoot yourself in the foot, Bucky. “No, sorry, I meant- I’m sure you’re a great person-”. Steve chuckled, closing the door behind them. There went any last ditch escape attempts.

“It’s okay, I know what you mean”. He didn’t look offended, so that was something, Bucky reasoned. But still, probably best not to insult the guy who would soon be putting sharp instruments into his mouth.

“Please, have a seat” said Steve, surprising Bucky by directing him to a chair by his desk, instead of the dental one. Bucky sat, managing to resist the urge to jiggle his leg as Steve placed a warm hand on his shoulder. “You were looking a little pale there” he said, still with that concerned expression, brow drawn up into a little frown. “Take some deep breaths. Would you like some water?”

“Yes please” said Bucky quietly. God, Clint was right, he was losing his vibe. Steve fetched him a cup, before sitting down beside him and pulling up Bucky’s file on the computer.

“So I know you told Scott on the phone that you’re a bit nervous, and haven’t been to a dentist in a few years” said Steve, swivelling to face him. Bucky nodded, shamefaced. “Forgive me if I’m prying, but is there anything in particular that worries you? Anything I should try to avoid?”.

‘ _Everything?_ ’ Bucky’s brain supplied helpfully.

“When I was a kid, they used one of those wrap things, to stop me from moving” he grimaced. A quick google search had told him he was far from alone from being put off by such an experience, but he still remembered that sinking feeling as Dr. Pierce explained to his mother that he was too hyperactive to be trusted to lay still.

“And when I lost my arm, they used straps and stuff” Bucky continued, gesturing to his stump. The accident had happened five years ago now, a stupid mistake on 19-year-old Bucky’s part in forgetting to check both ways before he pulled out at an intersection. The other car had smashed right into him. Disorientated and scared, Bucky knew he’d been restrained for his own safety, but that didn’t do much to comfort him now. “I don’t want that”.

Sadness flitted across Steve’s face, before he settled on that concerned frown again.

“I’m sorry that happened to you, Bucky” he said sincerely. Bucky shrugged, hoping the conversation would move along quickly. “But no, I don’t use restraints. There better ways to calm patients, in my view” Steve continued, and Bucky nodded, grateful.

“And…just the needles and drills. But I guess most people don’t like those”.

“Yeah, that’s the general feeling” Steve chuckled. “But we won’t be using anything like that today. This is just a check-up” he assured, reaching into a drawer and pulling out two tools.

“These are the main two I’ll be using” he explained, handing them to Bucky. “The mirror is to get a better look round the back of your teeth, and the probe is to check how healthy they are”. Bucky examined the tools in his hand. They didn’t seem so bad. Not like Dr. Pierce waving the drill around.

“Is there any particular reason you’ve decided to visit now?” Steve asked knowingly. Bucky nodded, gesturing to his cheek.

“I think I’ve got a cavity” he said sadly, and Steve smiled sympathetically.

“That’s okay, bud. I’m sure I can help you. Are you okay to sit in the chair? I won’t start right away, so you can get comfortable” said Steve.

Comfortable, huh? Was that a joke?

Bucky swallowed the rest of his water to put off answering, scrunching up the little cardboard cup. Steve was smiling encouragingly at him, so Bucky rose, reluctantly taking a seat in the dental chair. As promised, Steve didn’t immediately pounce on him, and started tapping away at the computer, adding something to Bucky’s file.

Looking around the office for something to distract himself, Bucky noted a few personal pictures on a shelf to his left. In a crowded photo he could make out Steve, smiling broadly, arm around a pretty woman with dark hair. Shit. Married? Obviously, thought Bucky. He’d seen the guy.

The second photo was of a happy brown dog at the beach, and the third a black and white shot of an older woman, who Bucky assumed was Steve’s mother. The rest of the office was also clean and neatly decorated, though a few stuffed animals and action figures positioned on a lower shelf caught his eye. Cute.

“Nice toys” said Bucky, and Steve laughed, wheeling his chair beside Bucky and putting a box of gloves on the tray beside them.

“Thanks. They’re good distractions for the kids”.

“So you never play with those action figures?” Bucky asked. Steve looked sheepish.

“Only when we’re closed” he said, and it was Bucky’s turn to laugh, picturing the dentist carefully arranging the toys for the next day.

“I believe you”.

“Hey, if you’d like-” Steve leaned over, grabbing something off the shelf and holding it out towards Bucky. A green, squishy looking frog sat on his hand. Bucky gave Steve a bemused smile. “He’s a stress ball” Steve supplied. “I thought it might help”. Bucky took the frog, giving him a squeeze. He’d be lying if he said it wasn’t satisfying, and he repeated the motion. “My friend’s daughter named him Froggo”.

“More inventive than Froggy I guess” said Bucky, and Steve laughed, attaching a clip to a disposable bib.

“Is it okay if I put this on?” he asked, and Bucky nodded, leaning forwards so Steve could attach it. His hand brushed the hair on the back of Bucky’s neck, and he imagined Steve stroking it instead, smiling at the mental image.

God, maybe he liked the dentist now? He laughed out loud at the ridiculous thought, sobering up when he saw Steve watching him quizzically.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, grinning back.

 _That despite having a ginormous fear of dentists, I now apparently find one attractive,_ Bucky answered internally.

“Oh, I was just thinking about how different this is to my childhood dentist” he said instead. “He wouldn’t have let Froggo on the premises”.

“No?” asked Steve. “He’s missing out”.

“My parents weren’t even allowed to come in with me”. Steve frowned.

“That’s really messed up” he said bluntly, and Bucky laughed.

“Yeah, I guess so”. Steve sighed, opening a draw beside him before pausing.

“I never want to be one of those dentists that makes a child grow up afraid of us” he said, honestly. Bucky gave him a little smile.

“Trust me, you’re already a million miles away from my childhood dentist”.

“That’s a relief” said Steve. “And I haven’t even examined you yet”.

Oh, shit, yeah. It’s not like Bucky forgot about what was about to happen in the hell chamber, but he was quite enjoying talking to Steve about his dumb frog. The dentist saw the change in his expression, and his face softened.

“Remember, today is only a check-up” Steve reassured. “I’m going to take a quick look, and then we can get some x-rays done and see what’s going on in there. I can also do a routine clean, if you’d like” he smiled. Well, Bucky thought, that didn’t sound _too_ awful, though his stomach was still churning uncomfortably at the thought of Steve seeing how bad he’d let the situation get.

“Tell me about this tooth of yours. How long has it been hurting for?” Steve asked, opening a draw and placing two tools on the tray beside him.

Oh God, it was actually happening now. Bucky gave Froggo a squeeze, eyeing the tools suspiciously. They turned out to be just another mirror and probe, sterile this time. But still, they were treading on thin ice.

“A few months, on and off” he mumbled, ashamed. Steve, to his credit, took it in his stride.

“Okay, I can see you’ve got a little bit of swelling here” he said, gently running one finger down Bucky’s cheek. The touch lingered on his skin, and Bucky shivered.

“Is it okay if I lower the chair a little? I won’t put it all the way down” said Steve, handing Bucky a pair of clear protective glasses.

“Yeah, that’s fine” said Bucky, though as soon as he’d spoken he remembered that this very much _wasn’t_ fine and what had he been thinking five seconds earlier?

“Do you want to do it?” asked Steve, offering Bucky a small white controller. Bucky stared at it, perplexed. “It can sometimes help you to relax if you’re more involved in the process” he explained, at Bucky’s confusion. “Just hold this button down, and I’ll tell you when to stop”.

Bucky took the controller. Although he was almost certain that Steve used this technique on kids, which was incredibly embarrassing seeing as Bucky would definitely be flirting with him in any other situation, it _was_ kind of interesting to be allowed to help. He was an engineer after all. Buttons were his kryptonite. Pleased to note that it made a satisfying clicking noise, he held it down, Steve stopping him once he was mostly horizontal.

“Good job” he smiled, and Bucky really wished he could muster up a sarcastic comment about not being a five-year-old, but damn it, he was scared.

“We can take a break anytime you want” said Steve. “I don’t want you to feel rushed or pressured. You set the pace, okay?”

“Okay” Bucky agreed, though the comforting words didn’t quite calm his stomach.

The dentist flicked the overhead lamp on, positioning it over Bucky’s mouth, before putting on a mask and a pair of gloves from the box, the latex snapping onto his skin.

“Alright Bucky, I’m going to use the tools I showed you earlier to have a little look inside” said Steve, securing the mask over his face. “Is that okay?”. Bucky nodded, swallowing as Steve leant over him.

“Hey” said Steve, squeezing Bucky’s shoulder reassuringly. “You’re going to do great. I’ll be quick, I promise”. Bucky relaxed a little. It was just a stupid check-up, he could do this. “Don’t forget your frog” Steve reminded seriously, and Bucky gave a weak laugh, squishing the stress ball.

Steve leant over him again, and wishing he was just about anywhere else, Bucky opened his mouth.

“Oh buddy, that looks painful” said Steve sympathetically, moving the mirror around Bucky’s cavity. Damn right it was painful.

“I’m glad you came to see me”. Although Steve definitely meant that from a dental perspective, Bucky’s butterflies kicked back up again, though this time it had less to do with the tools in his mouth. Or, it didn’t, until Steve nudged his bad tooth with the probe.

Bucky took a sharp intake of breath, squeezing Froggo hard.

“Okay, Buck” Steve soothed, retracting the offending tool. “I’m sorry. That’s really sore, huh?”. No shit, Steve. If he was a bit more together, he’d have fixed him with his best impersonation of Nat's glare.

“Does it hurt here too?”. Bucky braced himself as Steve pressed on the surrounding teeth, but thankfully the pain seemed to be isolated to the bad tooth for now. Steve nodded, wiping the mirror on Bucky’s bib.

“You’re doing so well, Bucky” he praised quietly, moving on to checking the rest of Bucky’s teeth. While it wasn’t painful, it was slightly uncomfortable to have someone poking around back there, and Bucky stared up determinately at the off-white ceiling, occasionally squeezing his stress ball. Steve’s hands were warm, even through the gloves, and he was muttering some numbers to himself as he went. True to his word, he worked quickly and methodically, soon moving onto checking his gums.

“Still doing okay?” Steve asked, running the probe along Bucky’s gum line. It was a strange sensation, but Bucky managed a garbled ‘uh huh’ with his mouth open. He tensed when Steve reached his bad tooth, but he used the tool so lightly there that Bucky hardly felt it. Removing the tools, Steve placed them back onto the tray, pulling down his mask.

“You did such a good job Bucky” said Steve, beaming at him like he’d just won a marathon, not made it through a dental check-up with only a moderate freak out. Bucky’s cheeks heated slightly at all the praise, and he grinned back.

“Other than the tooth you came to see me about, everything else looks good in there” Steve continued. 

“Really?” asked Bucky, flooding with relief. One tooth was manageable, right?

“Yep. Though I’m going to recommend you some products at the end, which should help you” said Steve. “What I’d like to do now, if you’re okay with it, is to give your teeth a little clean. I’ve got this tool here” he picked it out from the rack. Bucky eyed it dubiously.

“It’s like an electric toothbrush” Steve showed him. “Just more powerful. Here, give me your hand”. Bucky held out his hand, palm up, and Steve supported it, pressing the now buzzing tool onto the tip of his finger.

Bucky barely registered the tickling sensation of the brush, far more focused on the fact that they were basically holding hands. Stupid latex gloves.

“Now, a true character test. We’ve got bubble gum, or tropical fruit flavoured toothpaste” said Steve, switching off the brush and rousing Bucky from his thoughts. There was a challenging look in his eye, though he was grinning at Bucky.

“Bubble gum” Bucky said decidedly. Steve gave him a wounded look. “Bubble gum is great!” he defended. Steve chuckled, shaking his head before adding some of the pink toothpaste onto the tool.

“Whatever you say, Buck. Is it okay to start?”.

Once again cursing the fact that Steve was a damn dentist instead of a stranger on the dancefloor, Bucky nodded, calmer this time. Still, he gave Froggo a squeeze as he opened his mouth. The brush whirring against his teeth startled him a little at first, though Steve was quick to reassure him, talking to him quietly as he circled the brush around Bucky’s teeth. His spare hand rested against his jaw, gently holding him in place, and Bucky would be lying if he said he didn’t appreciate it.

There was an abrupt knock at the door, and Steve paused, removing the scaler from Bucky’s mouth.

“I’m with a patient” he called. The door opened anyway, although from his mostly horizontal position, Bucky couldn’t see who it was.

“Rogers, emergency appointment at three?”.

“No can do, I’ve got some x-rays to do here. Sorry Sam”.

“S’alright. Let me know as soon as you’re available though, there’s a backlog in the waiting room and Tony’s gone awol”.

The door closed, and Steve sighed, resuming his cleaning with an apology for the interruption. Bucky chanced a glance up at Steve. There was a crease in his forehead, though he didn’t seem to be rushing, his work thorough but gentle.

“A’e oo o’ay?” Bucky tried, Steve’s fingers still in his mouth. The dentist smiled behind the mask.

“I’m fine Bucky, thank you. Just a busy day. You doing okay? Want to stop for a bit?”. Bucky nodded, breathing deeply and relaxing his jaw, as Steve switched the instrument off.

“Is it okay that I’m going this slowly?” he asked, suddenly hesitant. Steve had just said he couldn’t take another appointment, and Tony, whoever that was, seemed to have vanished. Steve placed the instrument back onto the tray.

“Of course it is. You’re doing incredibly well”. The corners of Bucky’s mouth turned up in a smile, but he remained unconvinced.

“It just seems like you’re pretty busy. I don’t want to keep you from anything”. Well, that wasn’t strictly true, Bucky thought, but that was on a need-know basis. And Steve definitely didn’t need to know.

“Don’t worry about it, Buck” he said easily. “It’s important to me that you feel at ease here, and if that takes a little extra time, and some breaks, then I’m more than happy to do that”.

“Thanks” Bucky mumbled. Steve grinned.

“No worries. You let me know if you need to stop at any point, okay?”

“How should I let you know?”

“Hmm?” said Steve, adding some more (bubble gum) toothpaste to the tool.

“I could bite you?” he joked, though it came out more like a question. “Seems the fastest way of getting your attention with your fingers in my mouth”. Steve laughed loudly.

“I’d rather you didn’t” he said. Barely swallowing back his terrible reply of _‘don’t you like to get bitten?’_ , Bucky entertained his curiosity.

“What’s the worst experience you’ve had with a patient?”. Steve huffed a laugh, muttering something boring about confidentiality. “C’mon” Bucky wheedled. “I’m a grown ass man scared of the dentist, I want to know I’m not the worst patient you’ve had”. That did the trick. After a further moment of wrestling with his inner demons, Steve’s expression softened.

“Fine. But this is highly confidential information Mr Barnes”.

“Of course, I’ll pass it onto your competitors immediately”. Steve rolled his eyes.

“I have a patient who comes in every six months like clockwork, but refuses to brush his teeth between appointments”. Bucky paused.

“So he doesn’t brush his teeth at all, for _six months_?”.

“Nope” said Steve. “He says that’s my job. Insists he’s the reason I’m not out of work. I have to clean six months’ worth of gunk off there”.

“God” said Bucky, feeling slightly sick at the thought. Yeah, he ate oodles of ice cream, but he brushed his damn teeth. He wasn’t an animal.

“Okay, he’s worse”. Steve laughed.

“You’re not a bad patient, Bucky”.

“Even if I haven’t been to the dentist in four years?”.

“Even then. You were afraid, and yet still made the decision to come. That’s a brave thing to do” said Steve, squeezing his shoulder. His hand lingered for a moment, thumb stroking across Bucky’s shirt reassuringly. Bucky gave him a grateful smile, which Steve returned, before pulling away rather abruptly, grabbing the tool.

“You ready to start again?”.

The rest of the cleaning ran smoothly, and unfortunately for Bucky, there was no more shoulder stroking. He squeezed his stress ball every now and again, though his butterflies had mostly settled down. Steve had carefully rubbed some numbing gel onto his gum around the sore tooth, so it didn’t bother him during the cleaning.

It felt kind of nice to have someone looking after him like this, no more pain, just the feeling of being cared for.

Who’d have thought it, ey? Hell chamber not as hellish as anticipated. He was still shit scared for whatever Steve would suggest for his tooth, but he tried to relax and appreciate the gentle ministrations, and those hands on his jaw.

Next, were the x-rays. Steve led him into another room just down the hall, and had him bite down on a little plastic thing as the machine spun slowly around his head. Bucky imagined it wasn’t dissimilar to getting a brain scan from an alien, a thought process which occupied his mind for the few minutes the x-ray took.

Settling back into the chair was easier this time around, especially now Steve had already examined him. Just one more x-ray, and then he’d survived.

“For this one I’m going to put this tab between your teeth” explained Steve, letting Bucky look at the little paper tab before guiding it into place over his bad tooth. Steve’s other hand was under his chin, tilting his head. It was certainly an adequate distraction, though thanks to the numbing gel, Bucky’s tooth only gave a faint twinge.

“Good, bite there for me”. Bucky did as he was told, though it was slightly uncomfortable on his cheek, and Steve positioned the x-ray device next to his head. “I’ve got to head out for a second, again” he said, smiling apologetically.

“Say cheese” he called through the door, sounding so earnestly pleased with the corny joke he must tell five times a day that Bucky couldn’t help but smile.

Steve returned promptly, removing the tab from Bucky’s mouth. “Would you like to see?” he asked, the mouse clicking loudly as he brought up the x-ray pictures. Bucky studied the screen curiously, his teeth highlighted by the dark background, all stretched out like a concertina.

“Teeth are weird” he decided, making Steve laugh again and feeling strangely accomplished at the sound.

“Yeah, they’re pretty odd I guess. Wouldn’t want to be without them though”.

“But then I’d have an excuse for only eating ice cream” Bucky pointed out. A valid argument.

Steve raised an eyebrow.

“Ice cream, huh?”.

“Yep” said Bucky, popping the ‘p’. Steve huffed a laugh.

“Alright, let me check these over for a minute and then I’ll lecture you about your ice cream intake”. Bucky smiled sweetly at him, admiring Steve toned forearms as zoomed in on the x-ray.

“Okay” said Steve after a short moment, wheeling his chair over. “I can save your tooth from being extracted, if you have a procedure called a root canal”. Bucky fiddled with a loose thread on his shirt, stomach suddenly churning uncomfortably again. He hadn’t thought extraction would even be an option, that he’d just need a filling.

“A root canal?” he asked cautiously, making a mental note to thank his housemates for not letting this go on any further.

“Yeah” said Steve. “It’s where I’ll go in, take out the tissue inside your tooth, clean it and then seal it up. It goes deeper than an ordinary filling, but it won’t hurt a bit”.

Bucky bit his lip. The whole thing sounded terrifying. He’d been lured into a false sense of security by Steve’s stupid perfect face and his gentle hands.

“Do I need a general?” he asked apprehensively. _Please say no._

“No” said Steve, and relief flooded Bucky, “only a local. But there’s an option for conscious sedation, if you’d like to explore that?”. Bucky cocked his head.

“How does that work?”.

“I’d give you some nitrous oxide gas. You would be awake, but a lot more relaxed. Plus, it wears off quickly, and you can go home by yourself”.

“Really?” said Bucky, surprised. He’d heard of using gas at the dentists before of course, but didn’t know much about it. It certainly hadn’t been an option Pierce had given him as a kid.

“Yep” Steve smiled. “I thought that might be a good option for you. I’ll grab you a leaflet”.

Bucky read through the information as Steve scribbled some product recommendations onto a post-it-note. It was white, and tooth-shaped. What a nerd.

“I’ve written some toothpaste and floss down, plus some good over the counter pain relief you can get from the pharmacy until your tooth’s fixed” said Steve, tucking the note into the pages of Bucky’s leaflet.

“Thanks” said Bucky, folding it carefully to tuck inside his trouser pocket.

“I can book you in for two appointments with me, or Dr Wilson who came in earlier is our senior endodontist who specialises in this procedure, if you’d prefer”.

“No” Bucky blurted quickly. “I mean- I want you to do it. If that’s okay”. Get it together, Barnes. Also, _two_ appointments? Excuse me? Had his poor tooth not suffered enough?

“That’s fine, Bucky” said Steve kindly, saving him from any further embarrassment. “I can book you in for the first one on Friday?”. They sorted through the arrangements for the next appointment, Bucky balking at the prices at first but thankfully remembering that his bonus kicked in at the end of the month.

“Alright Bucky, that’s you all sorted” said Steve, finishing up on the computer. He leant over, carefully removing the protective glasses from Bucky’s face. He’d completely forgotten about them, and was rather thankful he hadn’t just attempted to leave with them still on.

“Thank you” said Bucky, clambering out of the chair with less grace than he’d hoped for. Deliberately choosing the side of the shelves, Bucky stole another glance at Steve’s photos. Now that he was closer, he could read the banner behind Steve and the woman, and realised they were at Brooklyn Pride.

Hmm…interesting. _Not_ married?

“I’ll see you on Friday” said Steve, holding the door open for him. Bucky paused.

“So, you’re not going to lecture me about ice cream?” he asked, lingering in the doorway. Steve smiled.

“Now that won’t cheer you up, will it?”. Bucky shrugged, sighing.

“Hey” said Steve. “You did so well today. Takes a lot of guts to come to the dentist after a bad experience. And please don’t stress too much about Friday. We’ll go at your pace, okay?”.

“Okay” Bucky repeated, giving Steve a little smile. The dentist held out his hand, and Bucky went to shake it before realising he was still clutching the stress ball. _Ah_.

He sat Froggo on Steve’s palm, watching as he sprung back into shape.

“See you soon, Bucky” said Steve gently.

“See you” he echoed, the door closing softly behind him as he headed down the corridor.

 _Oh God_ , Bucky thought as he stepped outside, _he fancied his dentist._


	2. Cradle me, I'll cradle you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky goes for his first root canal appointment. It doesn't go as smoothly as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry for the wait, I still had a load of assignments to finish for uni. But now I'm free! c:
> 
> This chapter is less flirty and more medical, but I hope you still enjoy it, the bad image quality isn't too annoying and it's not too long! Not sure why it always takes me 3k+ to get Bucky to open his damn mouth haha
> 
> Warnings: anxiety/panic attack, needles, dental procedures

“I have a problem” said Bucky, dropping dramatically onto the sofa. Clint nudged at his side with his bare toes, which was more than enough to make Bucky squirm into his own space.

“I could’ve told you that, Buck”. He sighed, stealing a slice of pizza from Clint’s box in retaliation. Pizza Tuesdays originated from their university days, where it was half-price in the canteen, but the tradition still lived on after they’d graduated.

“No, an actual problem. With the dentist”.

“What’s wrong with them?”.

“Were they a sadist?” Nat asked casually from the armchair.

“No, God” said Bucky, starting to wonder whether telling his friends was such a good idea. He’d get teased about this for the rest of his life. Or until he fancied someone more embarrassing. But with his next appointment only two days away, he needed advice, fast. 

“He’s hot. He’s really hot”.

“Oh. _Oh_ ” said Clint, sitting up straight, a gleeful smile spreading across his face.

“Years of avoiding dentists, and now you want to fuck one?” said Nat incredulously. Bucky groaned into one of their ugly yellow cushions.

“Did you get a boner?”.

“No, damn it!” said Bucky, flinging the cushion at Clint. “I did not get a boner”.

“But you _do_ want to bone him”. 

“I guess” Bucky admitted. Nat was watching him carefully.

“What’s so great about this guy that it cancels out the fact that he’s a _dentist_?” she asked.

“I just told you. He’s hot” mumbled Bucky. “Like a big blond muscly superhero”. Clint snorted. “And, ya know, he was kind. Sort of goofy” he added, with a small smile.

“Uh huh” said Nat with a knowing smile. “When is the future Dr. Barnes fixing this tooth then?”.

“Friday afternoon” said Bucky, giving her a flat look. “He’s my dentist Nat, nothing’s going to happen. And even if he wasn’t, he’s probably straight”. She shrugged.

“You never know”.

“Well- maybe not” he amended. “There’s a chance. He had a picture of him at pride up in his office”.

“Bucky, that’s the gayest thing I’ve ever heard” said Clint, around a mouthful of pizza. Nat agreed.

“But it doesn’t mean he likes guys; he could’ve just been there in support” Bucky huffed.

“Stop sulking and eat your pizza” said Nat, nudging his box towards him. “But for what it’s worth, I wouldn’t rule it out”.

Bucky nodded, gingerly munching on a slice to avoid upsetting his bad tooth, the soothing reprieve from the gel Steve had applied already gone.

The night before his appointment, Bucky was nervous to say the least. He’d rifled through Steve’s leaflet a hundred times, trying to reassure himself the procedure was safe and routine, which did little to ease his worries. Turning to google next, he read a bunch of positive root canal experiences, and then, just to torture himself, a whole load of negative ones.

One woman wrote she was in worse pain after the treatment than she had been before, and oh boy if that didn’t make Bucky want to cancel. But then he wouldn’t get to see Steve.

Thinking of his dentist, Bucky’s browsing eventually led him to the Shield website, and he paused.

Vaguely wondering if this was weird, Bucky clicked on the ‘Our team’ heading, scrolling down until he saw Dr. Steven Rogers, DMD.

Bucky was immediately struck by the beard, zooming in on the photo. Why exactly did Steve not have that on his face all the time? Probably some dumb dentist rule about hygiene.

Reading the description under the photo however, he felt a little downcast. The receptionist had specifically placed him with Steve because he was nervous, but now he was doubting whether they had any connection at all. Maybe Steve was just like that with everyone. It was literally his speciality to put people at ease.

He read the testimonials next, sinking further into his misery when there were several comments regarding how _wonderful_ Dr. Rogers had been with them. Definitely nothing special going on, then.

After his depressing stalker session on the Shield website, Bucky turned to various social media websites, typing Steve’s name into the search bars. But alas, there were a lot of Steve Rogers in the world, and none of the users were the one he was looking for.

This was unfortunate, as Bucky then made the mistake of looking up a root canal procedure on YouTube, which resulted in him staring at the ceiling at 3am instead of sleeping. _Hell no_. He didn’t care how hot Steve was, he wasn’t putting those weird little caterpillar things down his poor tooth.

After a largely sleepless night, Bucky crawled out of bed at around 07:30, brushing his teeth gloomily and glaring at the bags below his eyes in the mirror.

He pulled on his cosiest oversized hoodie, a fluffy navy one with a little rocket embroidered on the sleeve. The days were slowly getting warmer as they headed into summer, but he needed all the comfort he could get. He also recruited a half-asleep Nat into braiding his hair in a loose plait.

The appointment was at 10:00, and Bucky spent the remaining wait time morosely scrolling through social media, the sick feeling in his stomach alive and kicking.

He was only left to stew in the waiting room for a minute or so before Steve called him back, denying him the chance to think of an escape plan. The dentist looked every bit as perfect and put together as last time. Bucky felt like a wreck in comparison. A dental-phobic disaster.

“Hi Bucky” said Steve, his smile _far_ too cheerful for what was about to happen. “How are you feeling?”.

“Okay” he lied, shaking Steve’s hand. Although he’d reluctantly decided that the best thing to do was to stop liking Steve immediately, Bucky couldn’t help but notice the lack of wedding ring. Easier said than done, he reflected.

“I’m glad. Come on through”. Bucky dragged his feet on the walk to Steve’s office, straining to hear any sounds behind the doors. Why he was always trying to make himself feel worse he didn’t know, but it was a habit he clung to.

Steve held open the door to his office, gesturing for Bucky to go first. This was no time to be a gentleman, Steve. Bucky entered, grimacing at the antiseptic smell as Steve closed the door behind them.

“Would you like to have a seat?” Steve asked, gesturing to the dental chair. “I’ve got some medical questions to go through with you before we start”. Bucky looked at the chair, and although his last experience wasn’t exactly the awful appointment he’d been expecting, sitting in it now seemed a task too far.

Bucky’s mind was racing, his nerves escalating. Steve was going to use those sharp tools to drill into his tooth, he’d see how poorly Bucky took care of himself, how bad he’d let things get. All because he was too scared to do what most people did every six months with no fuss.

Feeling sick to his stomach, Bucky shook his head. He couldn’t sit in the chair. He had to leave, _now_.

“I can’t do this” he said, finally voicing his thoughts. Steve paused, brow furrowing in concern as he reached out towards him. Bucky took a step backwards, breathing shallow. “I’m sorry, I just can’t”.

“Okay” said Steve calmly, “come and sit over here with me”. Guided to the chair by Steve’s desk, Bucky sat gratefully, legs weak beneath him. Steve crouched in front of him, and Bucky was painfully aware of the steadying hand on his arm. He wiped at his face roughly as he tried to ground himself, nails digging into his cheek, squeezing his eyes shut at the humiliation of how pathetic he was being.

This was exactly what he _didn’t_ want to happen. Steve pulled his wrist away gently, stroking a thumb over the back of his hand as he held it in Bucky’s lap.

“You’re okay, deep breaths” said Steve, exaggerating his breathing for Bucky to copy. Bucky followed as best he could, and his breathing gradually evened out.

“M’ sorry” he sniffed, dropping his head. God, had anything more embarrassing ever happened to him? I mean, there was tripping over at graduation, and accidentally sending an inappropriate text message to Clint’s mother of all people, but crying in front of the hot dentist was really the cherry on the cake.

“Hey now. There’s no need to apologise” said Steve, squeezing Bucky’s hand. “I know you’re nervous”. Understatement of the century, Steve. “I should be the one saying sorry; I was rushing you”.

Bucky shook his head quickly. Yes, things had been moving a little fast for him, but it was hardly Steve’s fault. The dentist had been nothing but kind and understanding last time, he shouldn’t have been so worried that this appointment would be any different.

“It wasn’t you, honestly” said Bucky. “I just don’t think I can do this. I need to leave”. Steve sighed sympathetically.

“Look, I can’t make you have this treatment Bucky. If you really want to leave, then there’s nothing stopping you” he explained.

Bucky felt his stomach churn uncomfortably, trying to discern if there was any disappointment in Steve’s tone, but his voice remained even as he continued.

“But if you let me help you, I can make the pain stop. I know how much you must be hurting, Buck”. Steve gave him an encouraging smile. “I can’t bear the thought of you living with this, not when I can make it better”.

Bucky bit his lip. As much as he wanted to escape the office and disappear, the small part of his brain that wasn’t freaking out realised that running wouldn’t actually solve anything. His tooth would just get worse, and might even have to be extracted at some later date.

“Will you let me help, Bucky?” Steve asked, and those big blue eyes looked so pleading and sad Bucky couldn’t take it. Spurred on by the ache in his jaw, he nodded, and Steve let out a sigh of relief, squeezing Bucky’s hand.

“Thank you for trusting me. We’ll take everything nice and slow, and you can have a break whenever you need, okay?”.

“Okay” repeated Bucky, sounding surer than he felt.

“Remember we talked about using nitrous oxide last time to help you relax? Is that something you’d still like to do?”.

“Yeah” he said quietly. “Where I’m still awake?”.

“That’s right. You might just feel a little bit sleepy” said Steve. Bucky nodded, and the dentist patted his hand before rising, and grabbing him a cup of water and a tissue box, before dragging a chair of his own next to Bucky.

“I feel sick I’m so nervous” he admitted, taking a sip of water. It was cool and refreshing after his tears.

“Oh Buck” said Steve sadly, “what are you most nervous about?”. That was an easy one.

“The needle, and the drilling”.

“Okay. I’ll put some more of that numbing gel on your gums before I use the needle, so you’ll hardly feel a thing” Steve assured him. Bucky sniffed, thumbing at the soft material of his hoodie.

“You won’t feel the drill at all, or if it’s the sound you don’t like, I can get you some headphones and you can listen to music to block it out. You’ll have to deal with me having the music taste of a 100-year-old though” Steve chuckled.

“Can you…can you talk to me instead?” Bucky asked. While he liked the idea of going through Steve’s playlists, he thought it would be more comforting to hear Steve’s voice.

“Of course” said Steve. “About the procedure, or just generally?”.

“Generally”. He definitely didn’t want to know about the caterpillars, thank you very much.

“I think I can manage that. I’ve got a lot of stories about my dog, if nothing else” Steve grinned, and okay, the thought of Steve doting on his dog made Bucky a little schmoopy. A small voice in the back of his head reminded Bucky again that he wasn’t supposed to be feeling _anything_ towards his dentist, but honestly, schmoopy was better than terrified. The voice would just have to deal with it.

Steve got him all set up in the chair, talking to him soothingly and setting up his equipment while Bucky drank his water.

A nurse would be joining them shortly to help with the procedure, which made Bucky a little nervous, but Steve reassured him that Thor, whatever kind of name that was, was very good with all his patients. Bucky doubted anyone was as good as Steve, but he kept that thought to himself.

Steve had pulled up a relaxation playlist on Spotify, stepping out of his office for a minute to speak with the receptionist. Bucky spent the time alone filling out the form of medical questions, and then squinting across the room to try and read Steve’s playlist names. Screw his shitty eyesight.

The dentist returned a moment later, sitting down and wheeling himself over to Bucky. Despite his determination to resent everything about the profession, Bucky had to admit sliding around on wheelie chairs all day did look kind of fun. Every job had its perks, he reasoned.

“How are you feeling, Bucky?” Steve asked, squeezing his shoulder.

“Better” Bucky mumbled, looking up at Steve. “Sorry”.

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry about” he assured, as there was a knock at the door. “Come in”.

A tall blond man entered, wearing the dark blue nurses uniform, and _holy shit_. He was similar to Steve in a lot of ways, but his hair was long, and neatly braided out of his face. The nurse smiled broadly, and Bucky’s gaze zeroed in on his biceps, barely contained in his scrubs.

_Two_ giant blond beefcakes. What the hell kind of clinic was this place? And who was in charge of the hiring? Requirements: must also be a model.

“Bucky, this is Thor. He’s the nurse that’s going to be helping me out today”.

“Greetings Bucky” Thor smiled. “I apologise for my delay”.

“Everything okay?” Steve asked.

“All sorted now, I was assisting Dr. Banner with my brother’s check-up, which proved to be rather an ordeal”.

“ _Ah_ ” said Steve knowingly, raising his eyebrows. Bucky wondered if he had just been an ordeal too, and Steve would complain about him later in the break room. “Bucky’s feeling a bit nervous today, so we’re going to take things nice and steady. I’ve moved some appointments around, so we’ve got plenty of time”.

Thor nodded with a kind smile, taking in Bucky’s red eyes and the frayed tissue clutched in his fist.

And- hold on a second. Steve had rearranged his schedule to make more time for Bucky? That’s what he’d been doing when he’d left the office? Bucky bit his lip. Steve was making it _real_ difficult for Bucky to stop liking him.

Thor wheeled out two gas tanks, and Bucky eyed them nervously. He knew the gas was meant to relax him and make things easier, but he still had his doubts. What if it didn’t help at all, and he was aware of every little thing? Still, he watched curiously as Thor used a wrench to open up the canisters, getting the tubing connected.

“Is it okay to roll your sleeve up to take your blood pressure?” asked Steve, holding up the black cuff. Bucky nodded, thankful his hoodie was loose enough to push up rather than having to remove it, and lose the soft comforting material.

“I like the rocket” said Steve, tapping the embroidery on Bucky’s jumper before rolling it up to his upper arm. “You into space and stuff?”

“Mm hmm” Bucky hummed. “Doing an aerospace engineering internship”.

“Woah” said Steve, looking at him with wide eyes. “That’s amazing”. Bucky gave him a small smile.

“It’s pretty cool”.

“I’ll bet” said Steve. “So, do you think Pluto’s a planet?”. Bucky had to huff a laugh at that.

“S’technically a dwarf planet, but I still think it was mean to suddenly leave it out just cause it’s a bit smaller”. _Blah, blah_ , Pluto wasn’t the dominant gravitational object in its orbit, _whatever_. It was still mean.

“That was me as a kid” Steve laughed, wrapping the cuff around Bucky’s arm. “Couldn’t keep up with anyone on the playground so I got left out”. Bucky raised a dubious eyebrow.

“Couldn’t keep up? I don’t believe that for a second”.

“It’s true!” protested Steve. “I was a skinny little guy”.

“Where’d these come from then?” asked Bucky, poking Steve’s bicep. And okay, that didn’t exactly help him to stop focusing on how damn attractive Steve was. Damn it, Bucky.

“From joining army cadets when I was 18” Steve laughed. “Alright if I inflate this?”. Bucky nodded, the uncomfortable sensation of the cuff tightening successfully drawing him away from the thought of Steve in an army uniform. A mean feat.

“Looking good” said Steve, deflating the cuff again. “Your blood pressure, that is” he confirmed hastily. Thor snorted in the background. If Bucky wasn’t sat there with red eyes and puffy cheeks he might protest that amendment, but he was, so he just smiled as Steve shot Thor a look to keep schtum. _Interesting_.

“Oh, I almost forgot” said Steve, effectively changing the subject.

He wheeled away from Bucky, pulling open the drawer by his desk and taking out the frog-shaped stress ball Bucky had used last time. “If it helped before” he offered holding it out.

“You put him in your drawer?” Bucky asked curiously, taking the little frog. Froggo had been up on the shelf during his first appointment. Steve looked a little embarrassed.

“Yeah. We put all the stress balls and toys in for cleaning after someone uses them, and I wanted you to be able to have him”.

Huh. That was…incredibly thoughtful. Bucky wasn’t sure why he was surprised, Steve had been nothing but thoughtful the whole time he’d known him, but this was really nice. He’d saved Bucky’s frog for him. He’d thought about him.

Thor had recovered from his supressed laughter, and handed Bucky a pair of plastic protective glasses, before attaching a bib around Bucky’s neck.

“Is it okay to check your pulse?” Steve asked, and Bucky nodded, slightly worried his pulse would be higher than usual under Steve’s fingers. To his relief (and disappointment) Steve pegged a clip on his finger instead.

“I’m going to lower the chair a bit Bucky” said Steve. “I’ll put it half way down for now” he said, and Bucky nodded, biting his lip. He’d quite appreciate the gas now. “Let’s get you on the good stuff” grinned Steve.

“Is this gonna make me go all loopy?” Bucky asked, remembering the videos on YouTube of the poor souls who’d just had their wisdom teeth removed.

“No, you’ll be just fine after a few minutes on oxygen” said Steve, fiddling with the nozzle.

“So I can’t ask you risqué questions and blame it on the gas?”. Steve laughed loudly at that, although Bucky was being completely serious.

“I’m afraid not, Buck”.

“Shame” he said suggestively, attempting his best Bucky smile. He had to make up for the completely embarrassing awful fiasco that had just happened, after all.

“You’ve perked up” said Steve, and was that a slight blush on his (unfortunately clean shaven) cheeks? The dentist turned away quickly, but Bucky knew what he saw. Hah! He _so_ wasn’t straight.

“I just hope the gas will work” he said, mainly to distract himself from this realisation, but Steve heard the nervousness creep back into his voice.

“It’ll work, Bucky. Let me worry about all that stuff. We won’t start anything until you’re relaxed” Steve reassured. “You can put it on yourself, if you like” he continued, seeming satisfied with the mask and handing it to Bucky.

It was strange to look at, as he was used to seeing the ones that covered your mouth too, but obviously that wasn’t practical in this instance. Bucky placed the mask over his nose, adjusting it so it was positioned comfortably, and inhaling the gas flowing through it.

“It’s simply oxygen to start off with” Thor explained, twisting one of the dials a little further, “and then we’ll add the nitrous oxide”.

Bucky nodded, trying to keep his breathing even, despite his slight undercurrent of panic. Breathing in the gas meant the procedure would actually be starting, which was a thought he didn’t want to deal with right now. Or ever.

Thor soon informed him they would be adding the gas, though with Steve’s encouragement and his stress ball, he was able to remain composed.

“You can doze off if you want. We’ll be taking care of you the whole time” said Steve, checking the mask again to make sure no gas was leaking out. Bucky nodded, the effects of the nitrous oxide gradually taking hold. It was a strange feeling, with Bucky’s whole body going slightly numb and tingly, but retaining the ability to move and speak if he needed to.

They’d arranged a signal, and Bucky just had to raise his hand if he wanted to take a break, but Steve had promised to check in with him more frequently during this procedure.

As Bucky’s eyes started to droop a little, Steve lowered the chair all the way down, which Bucky barely batted an eyelid at. Huh, maybe this stuff wasn’t so bad.

While he was aware of the dentist and nurse preparing around him, the fear that Steve snapping on his latex gloves had induced last time was mostly gone.

Bucky watched as Thor adjusted the overhead light and flicked it on, positioning it over his mouth, now clad in a mask and gloves, along with protective eye wear.

“Okay, Bucky” said Steve from his side, “Can I take a look at that tooth again, just with the mirror?”. Bucky opened his mouth, and Steve probed around his sore tooth for a few moments, murmuring praises. He switched out the mirror, grabbing some numbing gel from the pot Thor held out to him, and rubbing it along Bucky’s gums like before.

There was some more shuffling around, and Bucky caught sight of some of the equipment he’d seen in the video being passed around, including the metal clamp and the blue dam that went over his other teeth. Despite feeling like he was ready to crawl into bed and sleep for twelve hours, he was still aware of Steve’s hand on his shoulder, gently grabbing his attention.

“Okay Buck, I’ve put the numbing gel on there remember, so you’ll only feel a tiny pinch”. Bucky nodded, a crease in his brow. A tiny pinch, he could handle that. One of Steve’s hands moved to gently holding Bucky’s jaw. “Open really wide for me, good job”.

Bucky caught a glimpse of the syringe as Steve brought it into his mouth, and he couldn’t help the whimper that escaped. That thing was huge. For all the advances in dentistry you’d think they’d be able to come up with something slightly less terrifying.

Thor rolled his chair closer, and put his hand over Bucky’s, who sighed gratefully. “I know” Steve soothed, as he injected Bucky’s gum. “You’re being so brave”. Bucky took deep breaths through his nose, squeezing the stress ball. He wasn’t able to grip it as hard as usual, but he still found it cathartic.

Once the sting had faded, Steve prompted him to open his mouth again, and explained that they were isolating the tooth they were going to work on, though thankfully, as per Bucky’s request, he didn’t go into too much detail about the rest of the procedure.

Bucky gazed up at the ceiling as Steve and Thor’s faces periodically appeared over him, nervous for what was to come but relieved that at least the injection was over.

They finished getting his tooth set up, secured in the metal clamp and ligatured with dental floss. The blue dam came next, which Bucky a little scary as it obstructed his mouth almost entirely, and took several tries to get it positioned correctly, but Steve soothed him, reminding him to take deep breaths through his nose.

Steve informed him that they were starting, but Bucky remained still, limply squeezing at the stress ball. Steve had left the relaxing Spotify playlist running, and Bucky could just make out the soft piano keys over the buzzing in his ear.

He was vaguely aware that this was the drill and it was happening _right now_ , but he wasn’t overly concerned, appreciating Steve’s steady hand on his chin and his calming voice.

Suddenly, Bucky twitched, a faint twinge of pain throbbing through his jaw. Steve paused, and the buzzing sound was shut off.

“Hey buddy, can you feel that?” he asked. Bucky nodded minutely, a vague feeling of panic struggling against the calming effects of the gas. Had something gone wrong? “It’s alright, it’s perfectly normal. Even with the anaesthetic, sometimes things change when we get down into the tooth”.

Bucky remembered reading something about that in his googling, but he hadn’t stayed long on that page in favour of staring at Steve’s stupid perfect beard.

“Intrapupal?” Thor asked from somewhere above him.

“Yep” Steve confirmed, and out of the corner of his eye Bucky saw Thor pass him the syringe again. “Okay, you’re going to feel a little bit of pressure again, just for a second, and then it’ll fade right away”.

Even with the gas, Bucky was glad Thor put his hand over his again. He felt the sting of the needle as more anaesthetic was injected, and tried to stay as still as possible to avoid messing it up somehow. The pain faded quickly however, and Steve thumbed soothingly across his chin.

“There we go, all done” said Steve, removing the syringe. “You want to take a break for a minute, Buck?”. Bucky nodded, and the dentist and nurse put down their tools. It was slightly uncomfortable not being able to close his mouth during the break, thanks to the dam and clip holding it open, but it gave Bucky space to breathe and ground himself for a moment.

Although he was growing tired from the gas, he wasn’t sure he actually wanted to nap during the procedure, and not be aware of what was going on. That was the whole point of choosing conscious sedation after all.

After a few minutes, Steve asked him If it was okay to continue, and Bucky agreed. True to his word, Steve talked to him while he worked, telling him all about the dog he’d adopted last year, and some stories of his time in the army, occasionally breaking off to ask Thor something.

Bucky only distantly noticed the tinny buzzing of the drill, his head feeling light with that slight tingling sensation as he concentrated on the hum of Steve’s voice.

He learnt that Steve had a habit of rambling, and apologising if he didn’t think a story was interesting enough. Bucky wished his mouth was free to object, but he settled for a discontented groaning noise every time Steve said something self-deprecating, which soon had Thor laughing.

The nurse joined in the conversation occasionally, recalling the time his brother had released several tarantulas into his apartment. Apparently, he still wasn’t sure if he’d found them all, which Bucky decided was a good enough reason to move house. Or state.

At some point, Steve told him that they were adding something to clean the inside of his tooth. Bucky made a tired noise of assent, and Steve chuckled, adding the bleach solution carefully.

“I’m going to let that sit for five minutes, Buck” he said, withdrawing the instruments and placing them on the tray. “Try not to move your mouth too much, but you’ve got another break now”. Bucky made a tiny sound at the back of his throat, missing the comfort of Steve’s hands. They were back on either side of Bucky’s face in a moment, thumbs stroking over his jaw gently.

“You’re doing so well” Steve praised. “Last step after this, and then you’re all finished for today”. The words didn’t bring the comfort Bucky thought they would. He wasn’t in any pain, and though the end of his treatment couldn’t come fast enough, it also meant he wouldn’t see Steve anymore.

Finally giving into the tiredness, he closed his eyes, the warm glow of the overhead lamp still visible through his eyelids.

Bucky made a noise of content. Hell, if he knew going to the dentist could be this relaxing, he’d have gone months ago. He had almost dozed off, when a beeping noise sounded from across the room, and Steve gently roused him by patting his shoulder.

“You with me, Buck? I’m going to put in the temporary filling now. Just keep relaxing for me”. That was something Bucky could manage. Though he was somewhat aware of the different instruments being switched in and out of his mouth, it was a lot easier to remain calm now that he knew the worst parts were over with.

Huh, he must’ve already had those horrible files down his tooth, and not even noticed. Laughing gas was pretty damn good.

“All done, Bucky” said Steve, withdrawing the instruments a few minutes later. “Everything went well, you did amazing” said Steve, unclipping the clamp and releasing Bucky’s tooth. “I’m going to switch your gas to oxygen for a few minutes, and then you can take the mask off” said Steve, double checking Bucky’s heartrate and twisting the dial.

“M’ done?” asked Bucky, experimentally moving his jaw around now that it was free from the dam.

“You bet” smiled Steve, flicking off the overhead light. “You want these off?” he asked, tapping the side of Bucky’s protective eyewear gently.

“Mhmm”. The dentist removed Bucky’s glasses, and he blinked blearily, adjusting to the light of the room. He squinted up at Steve, who had removed his own mask and was grinning down at Bucky fondly. “Hey there”.

“Hi”.

“You did amazing”. Bucky rather disagreed, considering his earlier meltdown, but gave Steve a bashful smile. “You did” Steve repeated.

“Indeed” said Thor. The nurse had removed his own mask and gloves, and gathered up the equipment for cleaning. “It’s not easy to overcome your fears like that”.

“Thank you” said Bucky gratefully, looking between the two. Thor took his leave to finish cleaning the instruments, and Steve thanked him for his help, Bucky giving him a wave as the door closed behind him. The dentist let Bucky recover, not asking him too many questions, just monitoring his heartrate and oxygen levels as the effects of the gas faded away.

“You back with me?” Steve asked, a few minutes later, raising the chair so Bucky was back in a sitting position.

“I think so” said Bucky. He felt mostly back to normal, and not as tired as before, though the left side of his face was still numb and swollen by the feel of things. Curling up in bed with a good Netflix show sounded very appealing right now.

“Okay, that’s good. Try not to touch it or eat anything hard for a few hours” Steve instructed, removing Bucky’s mask. “You might feel some slight discomfort, especially when eating, but if the pain is severe please give us a call. We’ve got your final appointment next week, and then you’re all finished!” said Steve.

Bucky grinned, smile a little lopsided with the swelling. His cheek had started tingling rather uncomfortably, but Steve informed him that was just the local anaesthetic beginning to wear off.

Steve helped him rinse out his mouth, and removed the bib and the clip on his finger.

“Do you mind…” asked Bucky awkwardly, holding out his arm where his sleeve was still partially rolled up. He couldn’t exactly do it himself.

“Of course, I’m sorry” said Steve quickly, dropping the equipment to unroll Bucky’s hoodie.

“No worries, thanks” said Bucky. He didn’t want to make Steve feel bad, but it still felt a little weird to ask for help sometimes, especially from a more-or-less stranger. Although, Steve certainly didn’t count as that, anymore.

It had been a great idea to ask him to talk during the appointment, he was certain he knew a lot more about his dentist than the average person, though he supposed the average person wasn’t as invested as Bucky was.

Steve was chattering about his final visit, which was only a minor procedure to replace his temporary filling with a permanent one, and check everything had gone okay with the root canal.

“How’s Monday at the same time?” he asked, bringing up his appointment calendar.

“That works” said Bucky. He felt down, knowing they were arranging the last time they’d see each other.

His interest in the guy had gone far beyond his usual 24-hour crushes of people he met in bars, but he wasn’t sure what he wanted exactly. Sure, Steve was incredibly hot, but Bucky wasn’t only thinking about sleeping with him. Not that anything could happen anyway, the voice reminded. Bucky decided he hated the voice. 

“Is anyone coming to pick you up today?” Steve asked, jolting Bucky from his thoughts. He frowned.

“I thought you said it was okay to go by myself?”.

“Oh, it is, I just wondered” said Steve, rubbing the back of his neck.

Bucky took out his phone, checking the time. 11:05. He’d gotten a text from Nat, offering to meet him when he was finished, as she’d been let go early from her apprenticeship. There was also one from Clint, something about opening wide and getting drilled, which was decidedly _not_ appropriate to be reading with Steve sat next to him.

“My friend can meet me, actually” he said, replying to Nat before locking his phone again and Steve gave him a relieved smile.

“It’s not that you can’t leave by yourself, it’s just usually nicer to have someone with you afterwards, to cheer you up” he explained. Bucky smiled.

“I feel good” he said, honestly. The relief was immense, and while he’d not really experienced the euphoric side effect of the gas, he was sure as hell feeling something similar now. “I’m glad you persuaded me to stay and have it, I’m not sure what would have ended up happening if not”.

“Happy to help” said Steve with a smile. Bucky handed the stress ball back, and the little frog found his way into the drawer again. “You need me to help you to your friend?” Steve asked, watching Bucky carefully as he rose, stretching his legs. Bucky grinned.

“It’s okay, I’m fine” he assured.

“You sure?” Steve pressed, just in case.

“Such a helicopter dentist” Bucky teased, and Steve laughed, holding up his hands in surrender.

“That’s me”.

“I’m going to get out of here before you try and carry me”. _As if_ that was something Bucky would ever complain about.

Steve laughed again, and got up, holding the door open for Bucky.

“I’ll see you soon” he said. They shook hands, Steve’s touch lingering on his skin. Steve made to close the door, but paused, looking back. “I’m really proud of you, Bucky” he said, smiling softly.

He had such pretty eyelashes, all long and dark, and _oh God_ , Bucky really should not like Steve this much considering how many needles he’d poked him with, but he couldn’t help it.

“Thanks Steve” he said quietly, about ninety percent certain his cheeks had flushed an embarrassing shade of red as he turned away.

Once Bucky had made it outside with his swollen face, getting a few nervous looks from those still in the waiting room as he passed, Nat greeted him with a rare hug. That alone told Bucky how rough he looked.

“How’d it go?” she asked. Bucky sighed, giving her a look which he hoped accurately conveyed his despair at the Steve situation.

“Come on” she said, steering him towards the subway station. “Let’s talk about this”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you liked the fic & art of Froggo, because he's clearly the most important character.
> 
> Hoping you're all safe & well <3
> 
> My [tumblr](https://buckybees.tumblr.com/)


	3. I'll be yours and you'll be...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky has his last appointment, and tries to come to terms with the fact that he won't see Steve for six months. Or so he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it'd be weird if there wasn't any art/graphics for this chapter as there are in all the others, so I threw in a sub-par mood board haha.  
> In the last chapter there'll be some more actual Steve/Bucky art :)

Leaning back against the exam chair was easier the third time around. Bucky was nervous, sure, but he knew what to expect now. And what he expected, were Steve’s hands on his jaw.

Nat had braided his hair in a loose plait that morning, having the double effect of looking effortlessly good, and cushioning the back of his head.

Bucky had also donned his tightest pair of black skinny jeans, and while he’d love to show off his body too in a tight shirt, just to see if he caught Steve’s eyes trailing down his body, Clint had really got inside his head about popping a boner, so he chose another oversized hoodie long enough to cover his crotch. A real travesty. This one was a pastel pink, with a tiny glittery star on the arm.

Steve of course looked as neat and presentable as ever, and Bucky was disappointed to see that his scrubs hadn’t yet burst open over the course of the day.

“Last bit” Steve said encouragingly, wheeling his chair over beside Bucky. He gave Steve a nervous smile, but hesitated when the dentist made to put the clip on his finger, to measure his heart rate before administering the nitrous oxide.

“I think I want to try without” said Bucky. Woah, okay. He wasn’t entirely sure where that had come from. But he had to roll with it now.

Steve paused, considering his words.

“Are you sure?” he asked. Bucky paused, looking at the tools beside him, and thinking about the drill digging into his tooth. Feeling no actual pain, but being aware of every sound and instrument, and the bite of the needle.

“No” he said sadly.

“Oh it’s okay, bud” said Steve kindly, patting his arm. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of with using the gas, I’ve had it myself before”.

“I know” said Bucky, wondering where the sudden suggestion had come from. He knew a few people who’d used gas before, so he didn’t think being embarrassed about that aspect was the problem. He’d just wanted to show Steve he _could_ do it without, if he needed to.

 _Ah_ , there it was. “I think I just wanted to show you that I’ve got better, that I’m not as nervous anymore” he explained, shifting awkwardly in the chair.

“Bucky, you don’t need to prove anything, to me or anyone else. I’m so proud of you for coming here and getting your tooth fixed, you don’t have to make yourself uncomfortable to show me you’re not quite as anxious as before” said Steve firmly, though his eyes were soft.

“Okay” said Bucky quietly, feeling a little foolish for having suggested it. “Thanks”.

“No need to thank me” said Steve with a smile, attaching the clip to Bucky’s finger. “I just want to make things as easy as possible for you”.

Bucky watched as Steve rolled up his sleeve and took his blood pressure, finding it normal again, and shivered as his fingers grazed down his arm.

“Cold?” Steve asked, mouth quirking up in a smile. Only slightly mortified that he’d noticed, Bucky shook his head innocently.

Steve looked as if he was about to reply, when Thor returned from the little side room, noisily wheeling out the gas canisters.

Oh, yeah, the filling. That was happening right about now. Bucky was glad Steve had talked his dumb ass out of trying it without the gas.

He watched curiously as the dentist got the tubing set up, admiring Steve’s speed and proficiency. Thor had opened up the oxygen canister with the wrench, and Steve checked the gas was flowing through the mask properly before he handed it to Bucky.

He positioned it over his nose, and breathed in the oxygen, less daunted by the smell and feel this time around. The slower pace had also helped, with Steve chatting to him on the desk chairs for ten minutes or so before Bucky moved to the dental chair.

Steve allowed him to recline himself again, and Bucky held down the button on the remote until he was gazing up at the ceiling, Thor informing him they would soon be adding the nitrous oxide.

Bucky nodded as they worked around him, considering his predicament. Maybe the gas would provide some enlightenment. He’d talked to both Nat and Clint at length about the Steve situation, or what his housemate affectionately called his ‘sudden dental fetish’. Three guesses which one.

He thought if he wanted to fuck Steve – which admittedly he did, and then move on, the problem wouldn’t be so difficult to solve. They just had to go to a nightclub the next week, find another guy that took Bucky’s fancy and he could get on with his life.

But that didn’t seem the right solution, somehow. He didn’t _just_ want to sleep with Steve. He enjoyed their conversations, all Steve’s stories about his family and friends, his dog, he wanted to know more…and that was where things got complicated.

The effects of the gas were growing more apparent, Bucky’s fingers and toes going tingly and numb, his eyelids feeling heavier. Steve’s hands were gentle as he rubbed the topical anaesthetic gel onto Bucky’s gum.

“Alright” said Steve, holding the syringe just out of view, “little pinch, just like last time. You’ll only feel it for a second, and then it’ll stop”.

“Okay” managed Bucky, squeezing his stress ball and simultaneously moving his hand towards Thor’s. The nurse clasped it reassuringly, the touch grounding him, and Bucky opened his mouth as Steve exerted a gentle pressure on his cheek.

“As wide as you can, that’s it” soothed Steve, getting the right angle and injecting the anaesthetic. The sting made Bucky wince a little, not entirely dulled by the numbing gel, but sure enough it soon began to fade, and he slackened his grip on poor Froggo.

“Good. You’re so good” said Steve, gazing down at Bucky fondly, one hand still resting on his cheek. Bucky stared back at those blue eyes, blaming his dopey smile on the laughing gas.

Thor cleared his throat pointedly, and Steve seemed to compose himself, turning away, though that didn’t stop Bucky spotting the flush rising up his neck and reddening his ears.

Seeing as Bucky was a grown-ass man, Steve had definitely been bordering on unprofessional, but to hell if he cared. He _wanted_ to be good for Steve. Hell, he’d suffer through any number of injections if it got Steve calling him a good boy.

He realised Thor was still looking between the pair of them, and Bucky repositioned himself to look up at the ceiling again, feeling a little self-conscious despite the gas. This whole thing was a mess, but he definitely didn’t want to ruin anything for Steve, least of all his career.

Seemingly recovered from whatever moment he’d just had, Steve turned back to face them, his mask adjusted to sit a little higher on the bridge of his nose.

He brought the mirror to Bucky’s mouth, and he opened, stomach breaking out into renewed nerves despite the gas. Attempting to gauge if Steve was withdrawing from him, Bucky waited hopefully for a sign, until the slight rub of Steve’s thumb against his cheek eased his fears.

“Is it okay to start now, Bucky?” he asked. “Remember you can always raise your hand if you want to take a break”. Bucky nodded, trying to keep his breathing steady. Last appointment, he could do this.

Steve switched the drill on, gradually bringing it closer to his mouth, so he could get used to the sound. Bucky squeezed his stress ball, but remained calm, and soon the procedure was well underway.

It definitely wasn’t as scary as the last appointment, both because Bucky had gone through the process before, and there was no dam obscuring his mouth. He wasn’t entirely sure why that had worried him so much, as he was breathing through his nose anyway, but it had been obstructing and uncomfortable in his mouth.

There was also a downside to this appointment, however. A pretty big one. While Bucky was excited to go back to eating oodles of ice cream without his tooth protesting at every spoonful, it would be a whole six months until he saw Steve again. That is, if he actually did the proper adult thing and went to the dentist regularly, like you were supposed to. Though, he decided it wouldn’t be so bad if it was Steve.

The dentist’s hand rested against his cheek as he worked, and Bucky sneaked a glance up at him. Though the angle was tricky, and most of his face was obscured by the mask, there was a cute little furrow in his brow as he concentrated.

Bucky’s eyes ached from the attempt to keep them open, so he allowed them to flutter shut, confident that Steve would take care of him.

He also felt Thor lean over him now and again, switching between using the suction tool and passing Steve anything that he needed. Plus, occasionally squeezing Bucky’s hand to make sure he was still doing okay. Somewhere in his fuzzy nitrous oxide-brain, Bucky decided he really liked Thor.

The tinny buzzing sound of the drill was switched off sooner than he’d expected, and Steve moved onto filling his tooth, Bucky keeping his eyes closed as he realised the appointment would be coming to an end soon.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the instruments began to retract from his mouth, until Steve was double checking his shiny new filling with the mirror.

“You’re all finished, Buck” said Steve, removing the last tool and placing it back onto the tray. “And hey, you didn’t even need a break” he said, squeezing his shoulder. Bucky could hear the pride in his voice.

Huh, he guessed he hadn’t. That was pretty good going compared to his first appointment, and made him feel a little better about deciding to use the gas again. He’d still achieved something.

Thor switched his gas to oxygen, and Bucky breathed deeply, slowly coming round from the effects. He could see Steve clearing up in his peripheral vision, and his stomach flipped as Thor removed his mask and rolled the canisters back into the side room.

 _No no no._ It couldn’t end yet. This couldn’t be over.

“Hey, Steve?” said Bucky, lingering in the chair.

“Yeah?”.

“Can you- do you mind cleaning my teeth again? Like the first time?”. Steve looked a little taken aback, glancing up at the clock on the wall of his office as Bucky twisted anxiously at the sleeve of his hoodie.

“Sure, Buck, I’ve got time. I just thought you’d want to be out of here like a shot” Steve chucked, grabbing a fresh pair of gloves. Bucky lay back gratefully.

Apart from some squeaky clean knashers, and feeling Steve’s hands on his jaw one last time, he wasn’t sure what he was hoping to accomplish out of this little venture.

“I’ll avoid the tooth I was working on though” said Steve, wheeling himself back over to Bucky. “I know you’re all numbed up still, but you should leave it alone for a few hours”. Bucky hummed in agreement, mouth twitching into a smile at the mental image of Steve ‘working’ on other areas of his body.

“Would you like the bubble-gum flavour again?” asked Steve. “Or I just got in this new strawberry one this morning. It actually tastes pretty realistic”.

“You’ve tried it already?” Bucky grinned, noting that Steve had remembered which toothpaste he’d used the first time. The thought made his stomach flutter, but in a good way this time. He couldn’t see Steve’s face behind the mask, but his eyes crinkled up like he was smiling.

“Maybe” he admitted.

“Strawberry it is” decided Bucky. Steve added a dollop onto the brush, and began to clean his teeth, the bristling sensation actually rather soothing on the teeth adjacent to his filling.

Steve continued to chat to him while he worked, excitedly mentioning that he’d watched a documentary about space exploration the previous night. Bucky felt that swooping feeling in his stomach again. Steve hadn’t said exactly _why_ he’d watched it, but if he was telling him, it had obviously reminded him of Bucky.

As it was only a light cleaning, and Steve missed out a few teeth due to his recent work, all too soon the dentist was returning the scaler to the stand, pulling off his gloves.

“Did you like the flavour?” Steve asked, raising the chair and handing Bucky a cup of mouthwash to rinse with.

“Hmm” he said, pretending to consider it. “Not as good as the bubble-gum”. Steve laughed.

“Of course”.

The dentist unclipped his bib, hand brushing Bucky’s braid as he did so. Bucky wanted him to run his fingers through the strands, tug the hairs at the base of his skull as they kissed. Unfortunately, that was fantasy-Steve, and real-life Steve was busy chucking the bib in the recycling, and putting the clip back into its container.

Bucky realised this was the moment he was expected to get up, gather his things, and worst of all say goodbye. He never thought he’d be reluctant to get _out_ of the dentist’s chair. How things had changed since Steve. It was hard to believe that a week ago he was clutching at an ice pack and dragging his feet about phoning. 

Managing to extract himself from the chair with slightly more grace than the previous appointments, Bucky was struck by the urgency of asking for Steve’s number, or seeing if he wanted to grab a drink some time. He should just do it, and damn the consequences. This was his _last_ chance.

But Steve was right there in front of him, looking at him with those blue eyes, and Bucky couldn’t get the damn words out. The ‘worst they could say is no, so what’s the harm in trying’ mind-set was bullshit. ‘No’ would be an awful thing for Steve could say to him. It would be humiliating at best, and lead to a patient transferral and an immediate escort from the building at worst. So he didn’t ask.

“Thank you, for everything” he said instead, eyes fixed on Steve’s polished shoes. “Really. I don’t know how I’d have gotten through this otherwise”. Steve shook his head, waving away the compliment with a smile.

“Anything for my best patient”. Bucky gave him a bittersweet smile at that, because this was over. He wouldn’t see Steve for six months. That was a long-ass time. He’d probably turn up for his appointment and Steve _would_ have a bloody engagement ring on.

“It was all you, really” Steve continued, and Bucky raised an eyebrow, because he was _not_ having any of Steve’s self-deprecating comments today, thank you very much.

“It wasn’t all me” he said firmly, unsure where this sudden confidence had come from. Clearly Steve being too modest got him all fired him up. “I put off going to the dentist for years, because I was so afraid. And while I can’t say getting my teeth drilled into is my favourite thing”, Steve laughed, “I don’t have the same fear anymore. That would never have happened without you”. Steve sighed, but he gave Bucky a wry smile.

“When are you going to take a compliment, ey?”.

“Me?” Bucky cried indignantly, and Steve laughed loudly.

“Yes, you. You’ve done incredibly well in all of these appointments, and I won’t have you thinking any less, okay?”. It seemed Steve was also done with his self-effacing comments. Bucky thought they’d make a pretty good team.

Growing painfully aware he was lingering, and that Steve no doubt wanted him to leave so he could get on with his appointments, Bucky gave him a last smile.

God, this sucked. This really, really sucked. He knew going to the dentist had been a stupid idea. Bucky’s tooth didn’t hurt anymore, but he was in far more pain than when he first arrived. Heart heavy, he made for the door.

“Hey” said Steve, a slight note of desperation in his voice, “hang on a sec”. Bucky paused, hand still resting on the door handle. Steve rushed over to his desk, grabbing something and scribbling on it. “Here” he said after a moment, crossing the room and holding out a post-it-note. “It’s my number, for if you have any questions, or…need anything” he said, slightly awkwardly.

Bucky took the post-it. It was white and tooth-shaped, and Steve’s number was neatly printed on it, complete with a dorky smiley face, and Bucky wanted Steve to wrap him in his arms and never let go. Screw six months, Bucky needed to see him tomorrow.

Later, on the subway home, Bucky unlocked his phone. It lit up with the Shield website, from where he’d rather shamelessly been staring at Steve’s team picture before his appointment. He wasn’t a stalker, okay? His dentist just looked really damn good with a beard.

Just before the dodgy signal replaced Steve’s face with a grey error screen, he caught a glimpse of the contact number at the top of the page. Huh. That was…different?

He shimmied his backpack around, an elderly man beside him huffing at the movement, and peeked inside at Steve’s post-it where it was carefully stored in the inner compartment so as not to crease it. And yes – the digits were different to those on the website.

Which meant that this wasn’t a Shield number that any old patient could call, this was Steve’s _personal_ number.

Steve had told him to call if he had any questions. Which he totally did. Just none that were tooth related. While there was still a chance that Steve just gave him the number to get him to go away, Bucky decided this was still a win. Go him.

Nat looked up from her position on the sofa as Bucky entered, dropping his keys on the table before taking the post-it from his bag. He brandished it at her, grinning victoriously.

“What’s that?” she asked, letting her textbook fall closed.

“Steve’s number”.

“Oh!” she cried, sitting up straighter, and chucking the book aside. “You asked for it?”.

“Not exactly” he said. “I was stalling a bit after the appointment. Pretty sure he just gave it to me to get me to leave, but this is still good!”.

“You’re so oblivious, the pair of you” said Nat flatly. “Why would he give you his number to get rid of you? He wants to see you again”.

“Isn’t that against the moral code of dentists, or something?” Bucky protested weakly. Like he hadn’t spent the whole of last night googling dentist-patient relationships. It was definitely against the moral code of dentists.

Steve also didn’t seem like the kind of guy to throw the rules away in a hurry. He really cared about his job, and Bucky didn’t want to screw that up for him. Another set of keys turned in the lock, and Clint appeared, toeing off his shoes in the hallway.

“Bucky” said Nat seriously. “He wants to see you again. You have to call him”. Bucky groaned.

“I can’t call him now; I’ve only just seen him. You have to wait a few days, so you don’t look desperate”.

“But you _are_ desperate” said Clint, slinging his bag off his shoulder and flopping down beside Nat. “This is about Steve, right?”. She nodded, and Clint gave Bucky a satisfied smile. “ _So_ desperate”.

“Well that may be the case” said Bucky grudgingly. It was definitely the case. “But I can’t let him know about it”.

“We’ve been here before, Bucky” said Nat. “Me trying to get you to call the dentist. It worked out well last time, didn’t it?”.

“I guess” said Bucky. It was true, that he didn’t have a gaping hole in his tooth anymore, where even drinking water resulted in a twinging pain.

“ _So_ ” said Nat pointedly. “Maybe don’t put up as much of a fight this time”. Bucky fell quiet, considering her words.

“Right, bar tonight? Now that Bucky’s not a mood killer anymore?” Clint asked. Another leftover university tradition, although feeling slightly crap on a Tuesday morning was considerably riskier now they’d been thrust into the world of work.

“I’ll come” said Nat. “Bucky’s got someone to call”.

Leaving Bucky behind to stew in the apartment alone with Steve’s number proved to be an effective strategy on Nat’s part, as within ten minutes he had crumbled. So much for not looking desperate.

Still, he’d left it a respectable number of hours to allow Steve to get home from work, change out of his scrubs, and maybe grab some food and relax. Though, from looking at him, ‘relaxing’ for Steve probably involved lifting weights or something.

Dialling the number he’d already saved in his contacts, Bucky hit call before he had time to second guess any further, beginning to pace up and down his room. Steve answered after the fourth ring.

“Hello?” he said, and hearing that voice again so soon made something inside Bucky flutter.

“Hey, it’s Bucky” he replied, toeing at a piece of fluff on the carpet.

“Hi Buck” said Steve, sounding warm and happy. Bucky pictured him stretched out on the sofa, in casual clothes, the TV humming in the background. “How are you doing? That tooth giving you any trouble?”.

“No, it’s good. It doesn’t hurt anymore”.

“I’m glad”. There was a moment’s silence, and Bucky was painfully aware that he needed to _say_ something. Steer the conversation. Tell Steve how he felt. According to Nat, this was the whole reason he’d given Bucky his number in the first place.

“I had-”.

“Steve-”.

“Oh, sorry” Steve chuckled. “You go first”.

“No, it’s nothing” said Bucky, automatically. Why oh _why_ did he have zero game with Steve? A guy he cared about impressing more than he had any other for a long time.

“Nothing?” said Steve, sounding about as convinced as Bucky felt. Steve definitely wasn’t nothing.

“Well, I guess it’s something” he admitted.

“Yeah?” said Steve, his voice sounding oddly hopeful. “I don’t want to presume, but I might have a hunch where this is going”. Huh. That was good…right? If Steve knew he was heading, but hadn’t put the phone down on him. Yet.

“I had a chat with Thor, today” he said. Oh. Bucky _knew_ the nurse had been watching them. “About us”. He couldn’t help but latch onto Steve’s word choice, and the implied possibility of an ‘us’.

“He seemed pretty certain there was something we both weren’t telling each other”.

“That seems about right” said Bucky, heart hammering, before realising what he’d said. “On my part, anyway. I don’t know about you, how you feel” he stumbled. God, he felt like a teenager again. And not in the fun ‘I can consume alcohol with no consequences’ way.

“Bucky” said Steve softly, cutting off his ramble. Definitely for the best.

Bucky didn’t know why telling someone he liked them was so hard all of a sudden. Although, he supposed he was usually five shots in, and the man in question had never been his dentist before. A really good looking, kind, thoughtful dentist, with an amazing beard that he had yet to lay eyes on, but would be totally worth it.

“You are sweet, and funny, and intelligent” Steve continued, and Bucky needed to employ some techniques he’d used at the dentist to calm his breathing down, both for the compliments and the way Steve had phrased that sentence that sounded like there was a ‘but’ coming.

“But”, there it was, “you’re also my patient. It would be a serious breach of ethics; I could get fired” explained Steve gently.

Bucky felt sick. Was that it, then? This was far worse than his second appointment. Why would Steve give him his number, give him some hope, if he was just going to let Bucky down? Maybe he just didn’t want him to cause a scene in the office, or ruin his reputation. Bucky swallowed hard, though the lump remained in his throat.

“But…” Steve continued. Another ‘but’. “What if you weren’t my patient anymore?”.

“What?” Bucky asked, slightly taken aback.

“What if I transferred you to another dentist for your check-up?”

“And that would make it okay?” Bucky asked, voice small.

“Well, it solves the main problem” said Steve honestly, “I wouldn’t be involving myself with a patient. But if anyone called Fury ever asks you where we met, you’ve got to lie through your teeth” he huffed a laugh. A slow smile spread across Bucky’s face.

“I can do that” he said. Could this really happen? “Although I did like being your best patient”. Steve chuckled.

“How about you be my best guy instead?”.

“Best guy, huh?” Bucky asked, unable to tame his smile as he wondered what kind of cheese ball he’d just agreed to go out with. “What does that involve?”.

“It involves letting me take you out to dinner tomorrow” Steve replied, a hint of nervousness in his voice now. Aww, Steve. As if he’d say no.

“We’re going somewhere that does good desserts” Bucky decided, and he could practically see the fond eye roll.

“Wherever you want, Buck. I’ll pick you up at 7?”. Okay, this _was_ actually happening.

“Sure. Also, how long does it take you to grow a beard?”. Yes, he was this shameless. Steve laughed. The line distorted the sound a little, and Bucky couldn’t wait to hear it in person.

“Not long. Any particular reason?”.

“It’s a good look on you” he said, honestly. No time like the present.

“You been snooping, Buck?” Steve asked, although thankfully he sounded amused rather than freaked out.

“Yep” he said, popping the ‘p’. Back in the game. Steve laughed.

“I’m sure I can manage that, though maybe not by tomorrow”.

“Steve” said Bucky suddenly, and there was a pause before Steve replied.

“Yeah?”.

“Are you sure I’m worth this? Like- I really want to go to dinner with you”, _tone it down Barnes, play it cool_ , “but if it messes up your career-”.

“Bucky, no” said Steve, cutting him off. “This is my choice to make, if there’s ever any repercussions from this, it’s on me”. Bucky sighed. He was so worried Steve would regret this in a month’s time, and call the whole thing off. That might even be worse than it not happening at all. Having a chance with him, and then it not working out anyway.

“I’m so excited to take you out, Bucky. Even if it’s as friends-” not bloody likely, Steve, “or as something more”.

 _Something more_. Bucky wiggled his toes excitedly.

He could work with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it :)
> 
> Also…guess who’s facing their fear and has booked a dentist appointment for the first time in 4 years c:  
> I’m super scared but I booked like a specific ’nervous patients’ appointment so hopefully the dentist will be nice and I can actually get this one tooth fixed that’s been messing me around since I was like 6  
> I think writing this fic has made me realise I need to just be brave and get it over with haha  
> 
> 
> [My tumblr](https://buckybees.tumblr.com/)


	4. Toothpaste kisses, divine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One year later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I hope you're all doing good and enjoy the last chapter :) and there's art this time!!

_One year later_

Pulling open the door of Shield Dentistry, Bucky let two elderly women with matching handbags pass before entering, heading up the short flight of stairs to the front desk. Scott was engaged in constructing some sort of complicated paper aeroplane, rather than doing any receptionist work, but he looked up when Bucky approached, leaning on the counter.

“Hey Bucky” he grinned.

“Hi. Nice plane”.

“Thanks” said Scott. “I’m trying to make them good enough to get down to Hope’s office at the end”. Bucky looked down the corridor where Scott was pointing. It was a pretty long way, and a crumpled plane lay about 1ft into the corridor.

“Good luck” he laughed. Hope and Scott were kind of a thing. But not really a thing. Bucky fondly remembered the look on Steve’s face when he realised Bucky knew more of the office gossip than he did.

“He’s in his office, I think. I’ve been printing out paperwork for him all day so he’s probably cranky”.

“Thanks for the heads up” said Bucky, bypassing the few curious patients still left in the waiting room, and heading down the corridor to Steve’s office.

The door was ajar, and Bucky pushed it open to see Steve hunched over his desk, pouring over sheets of paper and x-ray diagrams. His posture was terrible, as usual, and Buck made a mental note to give him a back massage later.

“Hi Stevie” he said, announcing himself. His boyfriend looked up, the tension going out of his shoulders as he smiled, dropping the paper.

“Bucky” said Steve, opening his arms. Bucky stepped into them, wrapping his arm around Steve’s shoulders as he hid his face in his stomach.

“Long day?”. Steve made a noise of assent, arms tightening around Bucky’s waist.

“Better now” he said, voice muffled. Bucky laughed.

“Punk. What’s a guy gotta do to get a kiss around here?”. Steve looked up at that, and Bucky snorted before leaning down to kiss him.

It had only been a day since he’d last seen Steve, but Bucky smiled against his full lips, knowing he’d never get enough of them against his own. He nipped at Steve’s bottom lip as he pulled away, and his boyfriend let out a contented sigh.

“How are you feeling? Nervous?” Steve asked. Bucky carded his hand through Steve’s hair.

“Yeah, a bit”.

“You’re going to do great, sweetheart”. Bucky smiled.

“You’re still helping, right?”.

“Of course” said Steve. “I’ll be right there with you”.

Dr. Wilson’s office was next to Steve’s, and the dentist knocked on the door before entering. Sam was also hunched over some paperwork, but he swivelled around when they approached.

“Hey” said Steve, his arm slotting around Bucky’s waist easily. “Got your last patient of the day here for you”.

“Best till last” Bucky added helpfully, looking to Steve for confirmation. He gave Bucky a squeeze.

“I wouldn’t bet on it” said Sam, rising and clapping them both on the shoulder.

“You alright?” he asked Bucky. He nodded, feeling a little more nervous now the time had actually come. Still, not nervous enough to miss the opportunity to annoy Sam.

“Take a seat when you’re ready, I’ll just put this lot away” said Sam, gesturing to the mess of x-rays on his desk.

Bucky only hesitated for a moment before moving to sit in the chair, stomach churning a little, but remaining calm. It was his second appointment with Sam, who’d become his new dentist once it became clear he and Steve couldn’t keep their eyes, or hands, off one another.

Sam was also Steve’s closest friend, which for some reason brought out the urge in both of them to be sarcastic assholes to each other. That led to a kind of kinship, in a way, with the pair bonding over Steve’s distress at them swiping at one other. Bucky supposed he’d call Sam a friend, but never to his face. He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

Amongst other things, this appointment also meant it had been almost a year since he and Steve went on their first date, and stuffed themselves silly with sugary desserts. They’d kissed and laughed long into the night, and Steve had barely even moaned about the potential cavities.

Bucky grinned fondly at the memory, realising a whole lot had happened since then, to say the least. He could hardly believe his life took such a turn from a trip to the dentists.

From being signed on as a full time hire after his apprenticeship ended, to Steve asking him to move in with him a few weeks back, it had been a pretty great year. As they both currently had housemates, they’d started to look at new places, where they could start afresh together.

Steve had also promised him a cat, which although he’d said it half-asleep at 2am after a lot of wheedling (and _refused_ to write it down, the jerk), Bucky would certainly be holding him to.

Sam had cleared away his desk, a subtle way of allowing Bucky time to acclimatise, and began to prepare for the exam, grabbing a mask and the box of gloves.

“You ain’t gonna bite me again, are you?” asked Sam, handing Bucky a pair of protective glasses.

“It was one time!” Bucky defended. “You _told_ me to bite down”.

“Yes, on the x-ray tab, not on _me_ ”. Bucky shrugged. He did what he was told, okay. Trust Sam to get all whiny about it.

“Alright you two” said Steve, returning with a bib. He clipped it around Bucky’s neck, letting his braid slip through his fingers as he pulled away. Bucky smiled. He knew Steve liked his hair like this, loose except for a small plait on the side, keeping it out of his face.

Steve grabbed the remote for the chair, handing it to Bucky for when he was ready. On impulse, he pushed a button at random, surprising himself when the seat of the chair began to rise. He held it down until it maxed out, bringing him level with Steve’s chest when he was standing. His boyfriend laughed, giving Bucky a peck on the lips before Sam leaned over and confiscated the remote, giving Bucky a long-suffering look as he lowered him down again.

Once Sam got the chair positioned properly and was ready to start, grumbling about Bucky’s inability to leave things alone, Steve squeezed his hand reassuringly. While his boyfriend was no longer the one examining him, it was a relief to have his undivided comfort, though it did mean he had to deal with Sam. Ugh. The dentist positioned the light over Bucky’s mouth, before snapping on his gloves, wheeling his chair around next to his head.

“Say aah” Sam cooed, and Bucky glared at him before opening his mouth. He was on thin ice, this man.

Sam chuckled, leaning over him, and using the mirror and probe to inspect Bucky’s teeth. Despite his teasing, he was just as gentle as Steve when examining him, with his boyfriend assuring Bucky that Sam knew of his anxieties surrounding the dentist and he had explained how best to put him at ease.

Sam double checked the tooth where he’d had his root canal done, but thankfully there were no signs of decay, Steve’s handiwork holding up nicely against the onslaught of ice cream he subjected it to.

As Sam pulled away for a moment to clean the mirror, Bucky looked towards his boyfriend, to see him smiling encouragingly. He pouted, hoping to convey the unfairness of the situation, and Steve laughed, stroking his thumb across Bucky’s hand.

Sam tapped the mirror against his lips, and Bucky opened again, the dentist this time examining his upper molars.

“Where’s that big mouth when I’m checking your teeth, huh?” Sam teased, a gentle pressure on Bucky’s cheek to prompt him to open wider, and oh, he was making it just _so_ tempting to chomp on those fingers. But that would upset Steve, and it was just Sam’s luck that Bucky found that more important.

Sam used the probe to check along his gum lines, Bucky wincing slightly when he scraped a bit of plaque away.

“I know, I’m sorry” Sam soothed, suddenly serious. He knew when to stop, when Bucky was actually scared or annoyed, and despite himself, he had to admit he liked that about him.

“You’re doing so well” added Steve, squeezing his hand. The exam resumed, and Bucky supressed a shiver as the metal probe scraped against his teeth, checking for any signs of weakness in the enamel.

“Don’t think we need to do any x-rays today” Sam decided, finishing up and putting the instruments down. “But I’ll mark on your file to do one next time”.

“Sounds good” said Steve, tracing shapes onto the back of Bucky’s hand to distract him as Sam filled in his chart. He managed to make out a heart, and he squeezed Steve’s fingers in return.

They’d said ‘I love you’ for the first time a few months ago, curled up in Steve’s bed after what Bucky could only describe as some mind-blowing sex. His best work, by far.

They tried not to overuse it, showing each other they cared in other ways more often than not, but Bucky liked that. It kept the words special. And when Steve traced out the letters on the back of his hand, there was no other way to describe it.

“Such a good boy” he whispered, pressing a kiss to Bucky’s temple. Bucky smiled up at him lazily, feeling a little floaty on Steve’s praise even without any nitrous oxide gas.

“You want me to do a cleaning too?” Sam asked, wheeling back over to them. Bucky wasn’t sure who he was directing his question to, but he raised his head slightly to look at Steve, who he felt might have a different answer. Sure enough, Steve was nodding his approval, before looking to Bucky.

“You okay with a cleaning, Buck?”. Bucky pouted, but dropped his head back to the chair.

He knew he _should_ get his teeth cleaned, and it wasn’t the worst experience he’d ever had. Hell, he’d even asked Steve for an extra one so he didn’t have to leave. But the prospect of staying longer in the chair wasn’t too appealing now that he’d already secured his hot dentist boyfriend.

Both men chucked at Bucky’s glower.

“Yeah, I know you aren’t too keen” said Sam, grabbing his cleaning tool from the stand. “But it’s not so bad. Here” he said, switching on the tool and showing it to Bucky. Sure enough, the buzz was slightly reminiscent of a drill, but definitely not half as threatening as one. 

Bucky nodded his acceptance, though he was definitely going to milk this later when he wanted Steve’s attention.

“You wanna choose the flavour?” Sam asked, holding up a few pots. He’d run out of bubble-gum, to Bucky’s disappointment, but Steve once again proved himself to be the most thoughtful boyfriend Bucky had ever had and went to his own office to fetch him some. Sam shook his head in exasperation after he left.

“You’ve got him wrapped around your finger Barnes, you know that right?”. Bucky gave him a shit-eating grin.

“Oh yes”. Sam laughed.

Bucky just had to pout a little, fix Steve with his puppy dog eyes, and nine times out of ten he gave into whatever he wanted. And the tenth occasion was usually reserved for something that Bucky didn’t want to do, but was good for him. Like flossing. Steve was a real stickler about that.

His boyfriend returned promptly with the little pot of toothpaste, and handed it to Sam. Bucky smiled up at him.

“Thanks Stevie”.

“You’re welcome, B”. Sam scooped the toothpaste onto the brush, and Bucky opened his mouth again, squeezing Steve’s hand.

Although he’d liked using the little frog stress ball, he had to admit that he preferred his boyfriend. Froggo had been reinstated on the shelf, to help other nervous patients or kids, though it always made Bucky smile to see him up there.

Steve’s other hand had made its way to Bucky’s stomach, rubbing it slowly to calm his nerves. Sam glanced up, rolling his eyes as he switched the tool on.

“You spoil him, Rogers” he said, though there was humour in his voice. Steve nodded seriously, and Bucky felt an immense urge of satisfaction. Spoiling him was indeed a very serious matter.

Sam began to clean his teeth, working thoroughly but stopping every now and again, both to give Bucky a break to relax his jaw and to check on his progress so far.

The dentist hummed a tune under his breath as he worked, soon reaching the tooth containing Bucky’s root canal, which didn’t even twinge as the brush encircled it. Steve was damn good at his job, Bucky thought proudly.

As Sam neared the back, he concentrated a little more on breathing steadily through his nose, inhaling the antiseptic smell in his efforts to relax his throat.

His gag reflex wasn’t too bad, and he snorted inwardly as he thought about how Steve had definitely helped on that front, too. But he concentrated extra hard, just to be safe.

Steve was right, he was the best little patient. Even if Sam had other ideas.

“You’re okay, last bit” Sam soothed, picking up on Bucky’s efforts. And ugh, screw him for actually being a good dentist. Bucky had already been preparing snide comments based on his abilities, but clearly that was a moot point.

Steve handed Sam the mirror, and the dentist checked around the back of Bucky’s teeth, making sure he’d cleaned away any traces of tartar.

“There we go, all spick and span” said Sam, placing the tools back onto the tray. “I’ll get some mouthwash for you. The sensitive one, I know” he added, before Steve could even speak. He smiled sheepishly at Sam, and Bucky grinned. Concrete proof his boyfriend had been going on about this appointment to his friend.

He felt oddly touched that Steve had memorised all of his dental needs. It sounded silly, Steve had been his dentist, of course he knew about his teeth, but he always made sure Bucky got the best brands and products for his particular needs, which just showed how much he cared, and honestly, it made Bucky feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

“Sorry Sam” his boyfriend said. “I know you’ve got it covered”. Sam waved his hand away.

“Don’t worry about it. I know you’re a bit invested in this particular patient”.

Steve hit button on the remote to raise Bucky’s chair, which helpfully brought them nose to nose. Bucky puckered his lips expectantly, and Steve huffed a laugh, leaning in to kiss him, stubble scraping across his chin enticingly.

“You taste like bubble-gum” Steve said. Bucky grinned.

“Nice, isn’t it?”.

“Well” Steve deliberated. “It’s no tropical fruit, but I guess it’ll do”.

“Jerk” said Bucky, leaning in again anyway.

“Don’t you start sucking face in my office” said Sam, throwing one of his gloves at them. It hit Steve on the shoulder, and flopped to the floor, doing nothing to disrupt the kiss. Sam sighed, and Steve pulled away with a laugh.

“Sorry again” he said, though he didn’t sound very apologetic this time.

“Uh huh” Sam replied. “I’m gonna get a girl in your office, see how you like that” he said, handing Bucky the cup of mouthwash. He rinsed his mouth, spitting the solution into the mini sink next to the exam chair.

Steve offered him a hand, helping him up, and Bucky didn’t let go once he was standing, lacing their fingers together.

“You want to pick up some food on the way to my place?” Steve asked.

“Ice cream?” Bucky pleaded, looking up at him. “They’ve got a deal on, two for one”.

“Have they indeed?” Steve chuckled, moving to hold both of Bucky’s cheeks before pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I’ll get you your ice cream, sweetheart”.

“Thanks Stevie” Bucky grinned.

“So long as you brush your teeth afterwards”. Bucky rolled his eyes. Way to ruin the moment.

“You’re such a _dentist_ , Steve”.

“Would we have met if I wasn’t?”.

“No” said Bucky reluctantly. That was Steve’s favourite comeback every time he made a dentist comment, and he had to admit that it was annoyingly effective.

Turns out dentists weren’t so bad after all. In fact, Bucky decided, one in particular was pretty damn incredible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, it's completed! I know it wasn't a super long fic but I'm still kinda proud that I finished it c: I hope you liked it and the ending was okay, I'd love to know what you think!
> 
> Bucky + the remote inspired by my 7-year-old self, when this dentist let me play with it and I figured if I went as high as possible she wouldn’t be able to check me haha. That dentist was actually kinda entertaining, she used to talk to me about her 20-year old toyboy (she was like 60) and taught me what Jack Daniels was
> 
> Also!!! Mandy wrote a super cute fic about Bucky getting his wisdom teeth out, [go read it here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24966115) & give her some love :)
> 
> [My tumblr](https://buckybees.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you liked the fic/fanart. I'm new to procreate/digital art in general but I'm excited to experiment a bit more with it and find a style I like :)
> 
> I got a [tumblr](https://buckybees.tumblr.com/) recently!
> 
> Also Steve's worst patient story is a real one I found online, but there were way worse ones, here's the [link](https://www.dentalproductsreport.com/hygiene/article/top-16-worst-dental-patients-ever?page=0,13) if you want to be grossed out haha. 
> 
> I hope everyone's safe and well <3


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